Hospitals spend thousands on reinforced beds for obese patients

Hospitals have ordered in hundreds of new beds with standard models required to take more than 40 stone in weight.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has had to increase the size of it's mortuary because people who die and are obese have been taking up so much room in the fridges.

At the James Paget Hospital, at Gorleston, near Lowestoft, in Suffolk, they have been forced to buy a specialist bed that will take a patient weighing up to 71 stone patient and two operating tables that can take up to 50 stone.

Obesity expert Prof Peter Kopelman, who is the director of the Institute of Health at the University of East Anglia said: "When you get more and more obese patients, health trusts have to provide the relevant facilities but it is a sad indictment of our society."

Andrew Stronach, spokesman for the Norwich hospital, said that it was having to spend 200,000 on refurbishing the mortuary.

Mr Stronach said: "Part of the overall demand for the mortuary space is the increasing number of bariatric (obese) bodies and, as a result, we will be installing 10 bariatric fridges.

"Our current fridges can accommodate bariatric bodies but a normal 10-space fridge will be filled by only four bariatric cases.

"We will be converting a post-mortem table so that it can take bariatric bodies. We are spending around 17,000 on two bariatric mortuary trolleys.

"I think what this situation does highlight is a growing public health epidemic over people's weight, particularly in cases of morbid obesity.

"It is a considerable issue, not only in terms of people's health but with the cost to the health service."

Obesity is said to cost the NHS half a billion pounds a year, account for 18 million sick days and 30,000 premature deaths.

Nick Coveney, director of nursing at the St James Paget Hospital, said: "We have anticipated an increase in obesity-related issues, so much so that we already have 100 standard beds that can take up to 42 stone, a specialist bed that takes up to 72 stone, two operating tables that can take up to 50 stone and we have a gantry that can lift up to 63 stone."